The business relations between the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Library (hereinafter Library of HU) and the Customer in connection with the ordering of an eBook on Demand shall be governed exclusively by the General Terms and Conditions set forth herein below, in the version applicable at the time of placing the order. Deviating provisions of the Customer are not recognized by Library of HU as a matter of principle, except in cases where Library of HU has expressly consented to their application in writing.

§ 2 Entry into a contract

The order placed by the Customer constitutes an offer to Library of HU to enter into a contract. If the Customer places an order with Library of HU, Library of HU will send the Customer an e-mail message acknowledging receipt of his/her order by Library of HU and stating the particulars thereof (acknowledgment of receipt). Such acknowledgment of the receipt does not constitute acceptance of the offer by Library of HU but informs the Customer that his/her order has been received by Library of HU. A contract is not brought about unless and until Library of HU confirms to the Customer by e-mail that Library of HU can send the ordered eBook. Such confirmation depends, among other things, on the availability of the book and on the physical condition of the book being such as to permit digitisation, and on no copyrights/exclusive rights to use the work being infringed.

The Customer will be notified within a reasonable time period if digitisation is impossible.

In cases where the price for digitisation has yet to be established, Library of HU will draw up a cost estimate. Such cost estimate is non-binding and free of charge.

The placing of orders by minors is subject to the consent of the statutory representative. Otherwise, the contract will not be brought about.

§ 3 Conditions of use / Ban on passing on to third parties

Unless agreed otherwise, the Customer is granted the right to use the delivered products for his/her own purposes on any hardware to be provided by the Customer. All uses in excess thereof are subject to separate written agreement. The Customer is only entitled to use the products within the scope of these General Terms and Conditions. He/She is not entitled to make products available to third parties, whether for consideration or free of charge.

§ 4 Exclusion of withdrawal

Delivery of eBook by download:Upon sending the download link to the e-mail address designated by the Customer, the digital book will be deemed to have been delivered. The link will be kept available for download for 60 days. Note: The possibility of withdrawal is excluded, as the eBook delivered by Library of HU is not suitable for return on account of its nature.

Delivery of eBook by CD-ROM or DVD:The DVDs and CD-ROMs are delivered unsealed, and in such cases it is therefore also not possible to withdraw from the order.

§ 5 Delivery / Prepayment

The delivery will be after the Customer has paid for the eBook and the payment has been received.

The delivery of the eBook by download takes place in that a link for download is provided to the Customer, to the e-mail address designated by him/her. Such link will be available for 60 days.

If an order is placed for a CD-ROM or DVD, delivery will be made to the delivery address designated when placing the order.

Library of HU will endeavour to make delivery to the Customer within 15 workdays; however, such time limit is non-binding unless in exceptional cases the delivery date has been promised in a binding manner. We are exerted to have short terms for delivery.

If Library of HU, without any fault on its part, is unable to deliver the ordered eBooks, for example because the respective other party to a contract entered into by Library of HU fails to discharge its obligations under such contract, Library of HU will be entitled vis-à-vis the Customer to terminate the contract. In such case, the Customer will be promptly informed that the ordered product cannot be delivered. The statutory claims of the Customer remain unaffected.

§ 6 Due date and payment, default

The amount of the invoice is due after it has been confirmed that the ordered eBook can be sent to the Customer.

The Customer can pay either

by invoice

by online payment systems (credit card or direct debiting procedure)

Note: The proceed to delivery will be only after the amount of the invoice has been received by it. If the Customer is in default with payment, Library of HU is entitled to charge default interest in the amount of 5% above the basic interest rate published by the European Central Bank p.a. The right to claim any damage in excess thereof remains unaffected thereby.

§ 7 Set-off

The Customer shall only have a right to set-off if his/her counterclaims have been determined by a decision which has become final and absolute or are not contested by Library of HU, and also in case of insolvency of Library of HU or with respect to counterclaims which have a legal connection with the liability of the Customer.

§ 8 Liability for defects

If the work delivered is defective, the statutory provisions apply. The assignment of any warranty claims that the Customer may have is excluded.Further claims of the Customer, on whatever legal grounds, are excluded. The liability for damage other than damage to the object of delivery is excluded.The above limitation of liability shall not apply to the extent that the cause of damage is due to intent or gross negligence, or in case of bodily injury. Furthermore, it shall not apply if the Customer asserts claims which are regulated by law.If the subsequent performance has been effected by means of substitute delivery, the Customer is obligated to return to Library of HU within 30 days the originally delivered article (DVD, CD-ROM) at the expense of Library of HU. The return of the defective article must be effected in accordance with the statutory provisions. Library of HU reserves the right to assert damages on the conditions stipulated by law.The limitation period is two years, calculated from delivery.

Note: With respect to the products, Library of HU does not warrant or assume liability that the products will conform to specific expectations of the Customer or that a specific goal pursued by the Customer will be achieved by him/her by means of the products. Automatic text recognition (OCR) in particular cannot be fully guaranteed and depends on the individual book that is being digitised (type font, language, age of the book).

A temporary suspension of services, e.g., of the download link or the tracing page, that arises from force majeure, from operational breakdowns or from circumstances which are not foreseeable from an engineering point of view, does not give rise to a liability of Library of HU.

§ 9 Applicable law

German law shall apply; the application of the UN Sales Convention is excluded.